BOOK SYNOPSIS
Jules reached out and touched the mirror. Suddenly she felt a surge of electricity run through her body, and a scene flashed before her mind’s eye of a woman shielding the lovely piece from . . . from what? An incredible feeling of doom and evil filled her. In an instant Jules’s breath was cut off. She gasped and backed away.

Jules swallowed with difficulty, feeling like the energy had been sucked right out of her. “I . . . don’t . . . know,” she stammered. “I’m suddenly feeling so weak.”

“Let’s splash some cold water on your face, and then get you lying down,” Khandi suggested, guiding Jules away from the vanity and into the hallway.

“Whatcha want us to do with this here thing, Mrs. Wheaton?” Ernie called down the hall.

Jules slowly turned around, a bit disorientated. To her dismay she wanted the vanity for herself. “Move it into the room at the top of the stairs,” she said, her voice breaking slightly.

Khandi frowned. “Whose room is that?”

Jules could barely get her voice out. “Mine.”

BOOK EXCERPTS
The chill of the room once more made Jules shiver. Curling her legs beneath her, and snuggling into the warmth of her robe, she turned the page and read on into the wee hours of the night. When finally she couldn’t keep her eyes opened another second, she replaced the diary in the drawer where she had found it, removed the locket from around her neck and placed it on the bedside table before she slipped off her robe, and climbed into bed.

Lying on the fluffy pillow, Jules’s thoughts turned to what she had read. She could almost picture Calissta Montgomery sitting in front of the vanity and brushing her hair. In fact, Jules could just about see Calissta walking around the room, dressed in the pink organza dress she had favored, the one her mother had sent her from Connecticut. So fond of the garment, Calissta had written an entire page on how she had felt feminine and beautiful while wearing the dress. It was a feeling Eleazar Montgomery had gone out of his way to dash in her; Calissta listed in her diary all the names she endured from her husband’s tongue.

Jules’s eyes finally closed in sleep, her body letting go of the day’s events, her mind releasing all thoughts. But the blissful state was soon interrupted when the nightmare returned and another’s presence filled the room. The same feeling of foreboding that had enclosed Jules the night before resurfaced. Again she struggled to open her eyes.

The quilt was removed and a pair of large hands turned her over to lie on her stomach. Jules tried to push herself up, climb off the opposite side of the bed and away from the trespasser, but her arms and legs grew heavy, like lead weights had been tied to them. Just moving an inch suddenly became impossible.

Jules had never experienced a fear so stark and overpowering. She tried to scream, but no sound escaped. She was paralyzed, in every way, and at the mercy of the imposer.

The menacing hands gripped the hem of Jules’s nightgown and with one tug pulled it up and over her head.

Her insides stiffened, as her naked bottom was now exposed to whoever stood over her. A mixture of humiliation and panic rioted within.

“You are worthless and ugly,” the deep voice spat. “And now you will get what you deserve.”

The hand struck a hard blow across Jules’s backside.

Shocked and frightened, tears escaped through closed lids. Another blow... then another; Jules choked on her sobs as the abuser continued to beat her. Harder and harder, faster and faster, the hand punished her bared bottom until her flesh burned.

Jules’s embarrassment turned to raw fury. Mustering every ounce of strength in her body, she lifted a foot and kicked backwards. Instantly the abuse ceased.

Quickly she opened her eyes and wiggled her head out from under her nightgown. The morning sun burst through the window, a thick silence veiled the room, and once more Jules was alone.

AUTHOR BIO
Roberta C.M. DeCaprio is a freelance writer, writing all genre of romance and women’s mainstream fiction. As a contributing editor for A.B.L.E.D. WOMEN, a publication dedicated to the needs of disabled women, she writes a sexuality column. Having a walking impairment herself since birth, she has insight into the problems other physically challenged women face. As a child, Roberta’s disability kept her from running and playing like other children, and so she sought comfort in books. Reading developed a love for the written word and she was inspired to try her own hand at writing. She began to compose poetry, and is the author of “Once Upon A Sonnet,” a self-published collection. Several of her poems have won awards and are published in anthologies.

A graduate of the Writers Digest School and Cornell Cooperative Extension, she is a member of The International Woman’s Writers Guild and Romance Writers of America; also RWA’s Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal special interest group. For two years she held the position of newsletter editor for Capital Region ,RWA, her local chapter; interviewing such authors as Elaine Raco-Chase, Valerie Hansen, Barbara Daly, Sue-Ellen Welfonder, Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, Mary J. Forbes, Sharron McClellan, and Mariah LeGrand for the monthly publication.

Roberta is the founder of The Word Merchants Society, an organization dedicated to the support and encouragement of writers. You can visit the site she’s created by logging on to:

www.timesunion.com/communities/thewordmerchantssociety.

A mother and grandmother of two, she shares her upstate New York, suburban ranch home with many beloved pets and her artist husband. Roberta’s first novel, Coma Coast was released by Wings October 2006. Currently she is working on a historical trilogy, a romantic fantasy, an erotic sci/fi and a woman’s mainstream fiction, as well as ghost writing.

BOOK REVIEWS
COMA COAST by Roberta C.M. DeCaprio is a paranormal romantic suspense that will keep you riveted from beginning to end. It has everything you could want in this type of story; a strange phenomenon, a friendly ghost, and a strong sense of romance.... Ms. DeCaprio is an excellent writer who has proven with this, her first published novel, that she can definitely put a storyline together that will keep the reader's interest. She makes this writer anxiously awaiting her next book. The very believable characters keep the reader captivated for the story to unfold and to solve the mystery within its pages. Roberta C.M. DeCaprio is a new voice in the paranormal field, but one we will look forward to reading again and again. I give COMA COAST 5 hearts for its excellence. -- Mariah LeGrand - Best Selling Wings Author

The Vanity, by Roberta C.M. DeCaprio is a paranormal romantic suspense that is based in modern times but begins in the past.

Roberta is a master at sub-plots, which go on throughout her novels. Her characters come alive on the pages and the reader feels the terror the heroine experiences.

Although The Vanity is a complete story on its own, we meet Jules and A.J. in Ms. DeCaprio's first paranormal, Coma Coast. I highly recommend reading both.

This author has a vivid imagination and always brings her stories to an ending that leaves all questions answered and the characters destined for a happily every after life.

Any novel by Roberta C.M. DeCaprio is a guaranteed good read. -- Mariah LeGrand, Wings Best Selling Author, Reiver's Passion and The Gypsy Witch